Dave Winer is both right on and I fear way too optimistic when, in his discussion of Facebook’s value, he says:

I’m tired of building networks of friends, over and over.
Next time I do it, it’ll be for keeps.

Dave I only wish this were true, but I think you’ll need to be pretty stubborn *or* very socially innovative (hey, you -are- innovative!  Do it!)  to fix the problem of the proliferation of way too many social networks with way too few standards to simplify the whole mess.     But I’m with you if you want to start insisting on some standards – basically some sort of informal understanding among social network users that we won’t sign up for any more social networks until there is a way to port that info safely, easily, seamlessly to other social networks with     I don’t understand why this standard has been so elusive but I think it’s simply that markets have been driving things and there has, until very recently, been too little or negative incentive to make this happen.    As Dave notes Facebook’s open approaches may make them the ultimate social application, leading me to wonder if I was too pessimistic to suggest Facebook’s not worth what many say they should fetch in a buyout.